November 22, 2022

I Don’t Hike by Coach Cathy

Last fall, I set out for a two-week adventure of a lifetime! I was officially in my fifties and felt there was no time like the present to push my boundaries and step outside of my comfort zone. You know, physical exertion, mental mind-bending, temperature changes, in-your-face nature, potentially suspicious food, and anything that makes you wonder later why you agreed to be that uncomfortable in every way.

After months of planning, prepping, and purchasing the needed gear, I was hesitant, to say the least, because I was about to hike 26 miles to get to Machu Picchu in Peru. You see, I don’t hike. Ever. I live at sea level in a beautiful place with many easily accessible hiking spots, but I don’t hike. No excuses. I sort of like hiking. I mean, I like the idea of hiking. I don’t ever make it happen.

What do you do when you are about to push your limits? You lean on a friend, right? Surround yourself with support and inspiration, which is one of the things I love about Hybrid Fitness. In my case, one of my grade school besties, Tammy, was going with me. Tam is the epitome of a spirited go-getter. Just what I needed! After 45 years, Tam knows me inside and out and has my back. However, she hikes. Like really hikes. Like all-the-mountains-in-New-England-every-weekend hikes. She was beyond ecstatic about this adventure.

I love to travel and have been all over the world. As I get older, I am less willing to suffer for the experience. I envisioned myself trudging along, far behind my friend if I wasn’t sitting on rocks or the wet ground, gasping for breath and sobbing periodically. Later wringing the sweat out of my clothes when we finally reached our nightly campsite only to find in the morning that my muscles would be so sore I’d have to forever live on the mountain in Peru with the alpacas for company.

I am a Hybrid Fitness Coach. Coach is the keyword. I help others get the exercise they need. In the past, I wasn’t as consistent with my exercise schedule. My nutrition was inadequate, at best. I tended to overschedule myself and skip meals. Once I realized what I had signed up for with this moderate-level Sacred Valley quest, I questioned whether I was fit enough to check this off the bucket list.

I have not been backcountry tent camping since b.k. (before kids). I was worried about my back after lying on the ground all night. I imagined tripping on the rock-strewn jaunt to the makeshift bathroom in the middle of the night in the blackest of black darkness. The temperature was a concern because I could only carry so much in my pack. Freezing after sweating in the cold weather from the exertion had me thinking there could be a possibility of never being warm again. I had no concept of what the food and drink would be like, including coca leaf tea, sacred to the Incas, which has enough caffeine to ignite my heart into a full gallop giving a whole new meaning to Elvis’s Burning Love. I was purposely not pondering the chances for any up close and personal conversations with unexpected critters as we intruded into their living spaces.

Despite all of these thoughts running through my head, I did gasp for breath but took more photos than anyone else because I stopped to take in my surroundings. I was slow but steady and arrived at camp whole and happy each evening, except when the toe of my shoe caught the step and sent me tumbling down stone steps. I don’t think I’ve seen that color purple in a bruise before. Sobbing was non-existent, smiling and laughing taking its place. My gear kept me dry in the downpours and shaded my fair skin from the sun. The thin sleeping pad did save my back from complete agony. My muscles were sore but in a why-don’t-I-hike-more kind of way. The food was pleasingly on the edge of gourmet with the now welcomed coca leaf tea because I didn’t bring enough layers for the evenings and needed the warmth. On a trip to the privy one evening, I made a deal with a tarantula to stay on our respective sides of the stall. Coach Brandon would have loved that. Overall, everything went well, but that didn’t mean it was easy. It was hard. Definitely not a vacation. It was what the brochure stated, an adventure hike.

As Coach Beth of Beth Feraco Fitness says, we can do hard things. We certainly can because I have signed up to hike in Nepal for two weeks in December. No, not Everest. I am not that crazy. As you probably know by now, I hate being cold, but I will be able to see Everest from my hike. I am going with a friend from college who runs adventure tours (Far Xplorer) in Nepal. Far Xplorer supports organizations that install clean drinking water in villages. Incredibly cool all the way around.

To prepare for this adventure, I have scheduled myself more time to be consistent in my workouts and not skip meals by doing some food prep. Sure, I’ve gained a few pounds with the increase in calories but, I feel better, heartier, stronger, and more prepared this time.

Wish me luck and stay tuned.

June 8, 2021

Top Beginner Boxing Mistakes!

5 TOP BEGINNER MISTAKES WHEN BOXING!

If you’re new to boxing, or you just want to clean up your form and prevent yourself from injury, then this article is for you! 

I’ve taught beginners boxing for several years now, and I see the same small mistakes with almost everyone. When punching a 70-100lb bag, form is very important. Proper form and technique ensure that you don’t injure yourself, and you get the most out of your workout.

Let’s take a look at the top 5 beginner mistakes when boxing!

MISTAKE #1: OVEREXTENDING THE ELBOWS!

    One of the leading causes of injury in boxing comes from hyperextending the elbows when throwing punches. This often comes from misjudging your distance between yourself and the bag you’re using, or just downright improper punching technique. 

Always make sure you’re close enough to the bag (or opponent) so that you can hit them with a fully extended jab. Using the jab to assess distance is ideal because if you can hit the target with the extended jab, you’re at a good distance to land all the rest of the punches. 

Another common issue is punching with a chopping motion rather than punching straight forwards. A good way to work on this is to imagine punching through a pipe. The punch will have to go straight forwards through the pipe to miss the sides, and will help throw straighter punches. 

Make sure to fully extend your punches, as well. Failure to do this will result in far less power/force. 

MISTAKE #2: NOT SNAPPING THE PUNCHES BACK AND DROPPING THE HANDS!

    Another mistake I see all the time is throwing punches forwards, and letting them linger out in front. Every punch should be snapped back to the chin right after it’s thrown, as fast as possible. The motion is very similar to that of whipping a towel.. Throw the punch forward, and immediately snap it right back. 

This increases the power of the punch, helps make your technique more efficient (getting the punches back quickly is important so you can throw them again if needed), and is also very important for defense. The longer your arm stays extended, the more time your opponent has to come in with a punch to your face/head which is vulnerable. 

Always snap the punches back to the chin. Also, if your fist isn’t throwing a punch then it should be besides the chin protecting the head. Oftentimes, I see dropped fists after punches or while slipping. Never let your hands drop down and always bring them right back to that defensive position. 

MISTAKE #3: NOT TURNING THE HIPS OR USING THE CORE!

    In regards to punching, the majority of your power is generated from the hips. It’s crucial to turn your hips and transfer your weight around to get a lot of power through your punches, and to have efficient technique (especially with the cross and hooks). 

When you’re throwing punches, make sure to rotate through your shoulders, AND hips, as well. 

This is where hooks can be awkward punches to master at first. I like to  think of your core and torso as a spring. When you’re throwing the hook you want to almost load the spring before coming back around. Load the spring by rotating slightly to the opposite direction of the punch, then use the momentum through your core rotating back to add power to the punch. 

This is easier and more effective if you throw the hook after another punch that already sets you up in that position (i.e. throwing a 2, then coming back around with a 3).

MISTAKE #4: FEET CROSSING OVER WHEN MOVING AROUND!

   Crossing your feet over one another is never a good idea!. It throws you off balance, and makes you very easy to push over. 

You should start a move to any direction with the foot that’s closest to that direction. For example, if you’re a righty and set up in an orthodox stance (left foot out in front, right in back) and you want to move to the left, start by stepping to the left with your left foot then follow with the right.

Opposite to the right, start with the right foot which is already closer to that direction then follow through with the left foot. Moving forwards should always start with the front foot and backwards should start with the back foot. 

MISTAKE #5: BREATHING INCORRECTLY!!

    Lastly, I want to talk about something I see most often and commonly overlooked, but is incredibly important. Holding your breath should NEVER happen. Holding your breath through a punch, or through a series of punches is never a good idea. 

This will make you winded very quickly. Not something you want to happen in a real fight, or even in a 45 minute class where you throw a TON of punches. Conserving your energy should be one of your top priorities.. You should take quick, small breaths with EVERY punch. This way you’re constantly moving air so you don’t get tired too quickly and it also helps with adding power to the punches. You have deep core muscles that only contract when you forcibly exhale so if you want to use your core to its highest potential…. BREATHE!

Now that you’re aware of some of the top mistakes beginners make when just starting off in boxing, it’s time to get to work! Fixing these up early on is very important. If you can master these 5 key issues with boxing early on, your boxing journey will be much more rewarding.

You’ll be significantly less likely to injure yourself, and you will have the tools to develop great boxing techniques and will solidify them throughout your experience. It’s much better to master the basics early  rather than later  when you’ve practiced the incorrect way for so long that it’ll take forever to unlearn everything, then retrain. Now that you know these 5 top beginner boxing mistakes and how to correct them, practice, practice, and practice some more, and I look forward to seeing you in boxing class!!

April 22, 2021

Boxing Basics: Knowing Your Punches!

    You’ve learned how to wrap your wrists to protect your hands, you’ve learned about setting up your boxing stance and you saw the video about how our Hybrid boxing class works… As you’re walking into your first class, you see all these stations with random numbers and have no idea what they mean. This article is going to dive into the 6 main boxing punches and how they’re integrated into each station we offer here.

Left Handed vs Right Handed

    There are 6 basic punches we use in boxing class here at Hybrid. Each punch corresponds with a number and each station has a combination of those numbers to form a boxing combo you use to workout with.

    If you’re right handed, any odd numbered punches are thrown with your left hand. Even numbered punches are thrown with the right.

    If you’re left handed, any odd numbered punches are thrown with your right hand. Even numbered punches are thrown with the left.

    Think about your non-dominant hand matching up with odd numbered punches. Dominant hand matches up with any of the even numbered punches.

The Punches

1- The Jab

    The jab is a light punch that will be thrown with the non-dominant hand. It’s the first of the punches that are straight out and should be lighter.

2- The Cross

    Next is the cross! A powerful punch that is thrown with the dominant hand and the second punch that is thrown straight out.

(Straight out punches are quick and need to be snapped back to the chin after. Kind of like a towel whip)

3- Non-Dominant Hook

    This punch is thrown with the non-dominant hand and comes in from the side. Think about cutting the bag completely horizontally. Elbow & forearm stay parallel to the ground. Palm face down or face in towards yourself (whichever feels better to you, doesn’t make a big difference)

4- Dominant Hook

    This punch is thrown with the dominant hand and comes in from the side (same as above).

5- Non-Dominant Uppercut

    This punch is thrown with the non-dominant hand and is thrown straight upwards. Elbow/forearm should be perpendicular to the ground. You can get underneath the bag with our wrecking ball bag (Station 3) but if you’re throwing an uppercut on a regular heavy bag, think about cutting the bag diagonally from low to high.

6- Dominant Uppercut

    This punch is the same as above except with the dominant side.

Four Things To Watch Out For When Throwing A Punch!

-No hyperextended elbows!! Also, always assess your distance from the bag before you throw a punch.

-Make sure to keep wrists tight and don’t let them extend when making contact with the bag.

-Step in to get underneath the wrecking ball bag.

-Make sure to take a short quick breath every time you punch so you don’t get winded!

    Practicing these 6 punches, and using the combinations of them will help you remember which number matches up with which punch. Shadowboxing, or boxing and throwing the punches in the air (not on a bag) is a great way to practice the punches and help memorize them. Now the more you practice them, the easier they will flow and once you’ve mastered the six basic punches you can start to work on adding more power to your punches, harder combinations and adding things like kicking in!

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And remember….

Small Steps, Big Results!